1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of producing patterned shaped articles including shaped concrete articles and shaped artificial stone articles such as paving blocks and the like used for surfacing sidewalks and roads and such as wall, ceiling and floor slabs used for building purposes; shaped ceramic articles including shaped new-ceramic articles such as paving tiles, wall tiles, porcelain wares, sintered rock, glass, flameproof materials and other structural materials; and shaped glass articles including enameld ware and the seven treasures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional method of providing a paved surface constituted of paving blocks with a pattern indicating, for example, a crosswalk, a stop intersection or other such traffic control mark has been either to apply paint to the surface in the desired pattern or to inlay the surface with another material in the desired pattern. On the other hand, the patterning of ceramic material surfaces has conventionally been carried out exclusively by pattern transfer, printing or inlaying.
Since the patterns painted on the surface of paving blocks are exposed to abrasion from pedestrians' shoes and/or vehicle tires and the like, they quickly wear off and have to be redone at frequent intervals, at a considerable cost in terms of labor and materials. Where the pattern is formed by inlaying, the work itself is troublesome and very costly.
In view of the aforementioned drawbacks, the inventors proposed methods for the production of patterned shaped articles using an auxiliary frame in a main form (Ser. No. 07/750,618) and using a cell form in a main form (Ser. No. 07/767,815). However, the former method requires a plurality of auxiliary frames corresponding to a desired number of patterns and the latter makes it difficult to form a smooth curve at the boundary between adjacent patterns.